Apparatus for producing animated pictures



Feb. 9, 1943. E. NAssUR APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ANIMATED PICTURES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Oct. 16, 1939 INVENTOR. //455 ATTOY.

Feb. 9, 1 943. E. NAssoUR' APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ANIMAI'ED PICTURES Filed Oct. 16, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 2 550053.

fan 4 217 /M BY %4 Attempts have been Patented Feb. 9, 1943 &310.254

OFFICE APPARATU S FOR PRODUCIN G ANIMATED PICTUBES Edward Nassour, Los Angeles, Calii'. Application October 16. 1939, Serial No. 299544 3Claims.

'My invention rei-ates to an apparatus for producing animated pictures and has particular reference to the production of such pictures by step by step photography of figures and settings representative of life sized objects.

It has been the practice to produce animated pictures by means of step by step photography of sets of drawings or paintings in which each drawing or painting diii'ers from the others of the set by depicting those objects or characters which are to be animated as being in a siightly different animated aspect.

made in the past to provide an improved illusion of realism over that derived by the photography of drawings or paintings. These prior attempts to produce such improved animated pictures have been characterized by the employment of flexible or piastic figures which are placed on a stage setting and photographed by a step by step process, the posture or animative aspect of these figures being altered between successive photographs taken and such aiteration of the figures being permitted by reason of their flexible construction.

While these attempts do provide a greater illusion of realism than was provided by the previous methods of production, they have not been entirely satisfactory because of certain inherent disadvantages residing in the methods employed. Among these disadvantages is found the extreme difficulty. with which these plastic figures are modeled into the next animative aspect without of those figures as should remain unchanged. Inadvertent alteraticn of the parts intended to remain unchanged spoiis the animation eflect by tending to give a fuzzy or ragged contour to the pictures so photographed. Furthermore, a great deal of time is required in the performing of the photographing operation since much time is consumed between successive exposures in arranging and altering the aspect of the figure and its location on the settingso that this method of.producing animated pictures is very costly.

It is therefore an object of my inventicn to provide an apparatus i'or performing a method oi' producing animated pictures by photographing figures which overcomes the afcrementioned disadvantages.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an apparatus for performing a method of making animated pictures which consists in performing the su'ccessive steps of photographing a figaitering such parts ure on a stage set and then removing that figure figure whose posture or and substituting another speciflcations, read in aspect difers slightly from that of the figure removed.

It is also an object of my invention to provide an apparatus for performing a method oi producing animated pictures of the character set forth in the preceding paragraph in which the occupied by the removed figure.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from a study of the following connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view representative of a miniature stage set and illustrating a miniature figure placed thereon in a fixed animated position;

Fig. 2 is a view substantially identical to Fig. 1 but illustrating a second animated aspect and position of the figure which is shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of one form of miniature figure which may be used in the practice of my invention and illustrating the appearance of such figanimative aspect of the figure;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which a figure, such as that illustrated in Fig. 3 may be supported upon a guiding apparatus and modeled to provide the desired animative position associated with be photographed;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 4 but illustrating the appearance oi a figure and the guiding apparatus when the figure iliustrated in Fig. 4 is removed and a second figure is substituted therefor and disposed in a position corresponding to a new location in the environment in which that figure is t'o be photographed;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view similar to Fig. 5 and showing the changes in the aspect of the figure illustrated in Fig. 5 which may be made by a modeier to cause that figure to assume the animative aspect properly associated with the second location of' that figure in the environment in which it is to be photographed;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section through one of the figures and the guiding apparatus illustrating the manner in which the figure is supported upon the guiding apparatus for manipulation by the modeler;

Fig. 8 .is a fragmentary perspective view with parts shown in section to illustrate the details of set from that previously upon the stage floor as construction of one i'orm oi guiding apparatus which may be empioyed in the practice of my in= vention; and

Fig. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a guiding member which may be employed to assist in properly locating the completed figure on the setting in which it is to be photographed.

Reierring to the drawings, I have illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 one manner in which my method of producing animated pictures may be performed. I have illustrated in these figures a miniature stage set which may, as illustrated, comprise a stage floor I disposed before a scenic back drop 2. The scenic back drop 2 may be embellished as desired and in the form illustrated is painted or inscribed to represent the front entrance of a building. In this case the stage floor i is iitted with another slab !a which may be marked, as at 3, representative of squares which are normally marked off on concrete sidewalks. The upper slag !a is preferably made somewhat narrower than the floor l ot the set so that a forward edge 3 thereof may represent a curb defining the difference in elevation between the sidewalk and a street. Miniature stage properties, such as representations 5 of potted trees, may be disposed desired.

I have illustrated in Fig. 1 a miniature figure Sa comprising one of a set of similar figures 6, each of which is a replica or complete perspective representation of an object, the animation of which it is desired to portray. By complete perspective representation I mean that the figures are substantial duplicates usually on a reduced scale oi the objects they represent and that the figures are complete and entire, permitting them to be photographed at substantially any angle. I have chosen ior the purpose of illustration a man as the animated object represented by the figures 6, the figure Sa being one of the figures ti having its component parts placed in such position as to represent an arrested animative aspect of a man leaving the entrance to the building and walking toward the curb. In case it is desired to photograph a sequence in an animated picture representative of a man leaving the front of the building and walking across the sidewall to the curb, the photographer would emplo'y a motion picture camera to expose one or more frames of a motion picture film to a scene such as that represented by Fig. 1. Thereupon the figure ta would be removed from the miniature stage set and another similar figure Gb (see Fig. 2) would be substituted therefor.

The figure Sb is identical with the figure ta in all respects except that the arms and legs and head thereof occupy slightly dierent positions relative to each other and relative to the torso so as to represent a later animative aspect oi? the figure during the traversal of its course from the front of the building to the curb at the edge of the sidewalk.

As soon as the figure Gb has been placed in its new desired position the miniature stage set is again photographed by the motion picture camera. This operation of photographing the set with one of the figures 6 in place, removing that figure and substituting another similar figure representative of a later animative aspect of the scene, photographing the set with-the substituted figure in place and so iorth is continued until the desired sequence is completely photographed to provide a film which comprises successive photographs corresponcling to successive phases of the animation.

'to hide the junction The figure ta, tb and other additional and similar figures are all preierably modeled and prepared ready for photographing prior to the performing of the photographing process so that the removal of the figure Ba and the substitution of the next figure Gb in its new position on the miniature stage set may be performed without appreciable delay.

The substitution of the figures in their correct order may be facilitatedby placing an identitying mark on each of the figures at some point which will not be "seen" by the motion picture camera, such as on the bottoms of the feet, etc.

I have devised a method of preparing each of the figures constituting the set of figures B which permits a complete set of these figures to be prepared prior to the time the desired sequence is to be photographed so as to permit the most economical use of time in the photographing operation. Each of the figures employed is preferably molded from clay or similar material and constructed along the lines illustrated in Fig. 7. Each of the figures preferably includes a body or torso portion 1 to which is attached by any suitable means legs s and arms 9. A head lil is preferably molded separately and formed with a flat undersurtace H at theneck line adapted to rest upon a similar horizontal surface I? disposed at the upper end of the torso 1. The chin line of the figure, such as that indicated at IS in Fig; '7, is preferably brought down below the level of the suriaces ii and i? so as to constitute a guard or shield between the head and the torso. The torso 1, legs 8, arms 9 and head lil are all preferably-made hollow by the employment of any of the well known hollow molding processes.

In the practice of my invention a considerable number of identical figures B are molded from clay or other material capable of remaining somewhat plastic for a considerable period of time. such figures, if designed for use in filming the above noted sequence, are preferably all molded in the form illustrated in Fig. 3, that is with the legs straight, the arms hanging loosely at the sides and the head having a face received in a guide channel with substantially no expression refiected therein. Each of these figures will then be modeled by an artist or other person skilled in the manipulation of such plastic figures intoindependent figures representative of difierent animative aspects of the sequence to be filmed, such as those represented by the figures Ba and ti).

I prefer -to employ a guiding and indexing apparatus as an aid to the-modeler in re-forming or altering the postures and aspects of each of the figures constituting the set oi identical figures t. This apparatus may be constructed along the lines illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8 and includes a horizontally disposed base portion IS which may be supported in spaced relation to a bench top or similar working surface by means of longitudinally extending supporting members is and lt. The base portion I& is provided with a longitudinally extending slot !1 adapted to receive a vertically extending supporting rod IB. The rod iB is mounted for slidable movement along the slot il as by means of a plate member i@ Secured to the lower end of the rod !8 and 20 amxed to the base portion H and extend- It will be observed that under surface of the ing along the slot i?. Wi h this Construction the rod !8 may be slid 4 along the slot i'l and be maintained in a substantially vertical position at any point along the slot.

The base portion Il is also 'preferabiy inscribed with a set of indexing marks, such as those indicated at 2l in Fig. 8. These marks are spaced apart a distance equal to the distance the figure tobe photographed is, intended to be moved between successivo photographing Operations. Each of the marks 2| is preferabiy identified with an index number (22 in Fig. 8) which corresponds to the identifying markings which will be placed upon each of the figures after they are modeled.

The steps of preparing the individual members of the set are illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Referring to Fig. 4 I have illustrated therein one of the figures 8 as having' been placed upon the guide rod s, this rod being received in suitable openings rormed in theupper and lower ends of the torso T and in the lower surface of the head io. This figure is also represented as having had its arms, legs and face altered from the positions which those members occupied at the time the figure was removed from the mold to a new position causing the figure to assume an animative aspect representative of the first photographing operation and identical with that illustrated in Fig. 1. This being the first of the figures to be photographed in the sequence, this modeling operation is performed with the guide rod s disposed opposite the first of the index marks 2I. As soon as the artist who performs this modeling operation has imparted to the figure the desired animative characteristics, the position of the arms and legs and the facial expression are carefully notedand the artist also records the leg positions by marking upon the base portion l4 the outline of the gure's feet so that after the figure is removed there will be left these marks indicative of the positions occupied by the feet of the first figure Sa. This figure Sa is then removed from the supporting rod s and subsequently hardened by any suitable means as by flring.

The artist then takes a second one of the figures 6 and after moving the guide rod forwardly to a position opposite the second one of the indexing marks !i places the figure 6 thereon. The position of the apparatus and the figure S at this phase of the modeling operation is indicated in Fig. 5. It will be observed that the positions of the arms and legs differ mr-terially from the positions which were occupied by the corresponding members of the preceding figure sa, this difference in position being clearly observed through the use of the marks 23 and 24 which were made by the modeler in outlining the feet of the figure sa. Using these marks as a guide the modeler then models the still plastic figure to bring the various members of the figure into positions representative of the second animative aspect of the sequence to be photographed, this disposition of the parts being' indicated in Fig. 6. As soon as this figure is modeled to the artist's Satisfaction, the'figure is removed for hardening as was the figure next precedlng. This operation is continued until a complete set of figures representing ali of the animative aspects of the sequence to be photographed are prepared and ready for use. may be ornamented by they have been fired.

In the particular sequence of Operations illustrated, it will be noted that in Fig. 4 the figure Each of the figures painting or staining after 3 60; is apparently carrying the weight upon its left`foot, the right foot being disposed a short distance off of the surface upon which the figure is standing so as to be carried forward in the simulation of a step being taken by the figure. Attention is called to the fact that in modeling the next figure Gb the position of the left foot relative to the surface upon which the figure is standing must remain unchanged since the weight of the figure is being'carried upon that foot. The artist accordingly marks the Outline of the left foot as indicated by the marks 23 upon the base portion H so that when the guide rod [8 is moved to a position corresponding to the second animatve position, the left leg of the then modeled and displaced rearwardly until the left foot is disposed in a position congruent with the marks 23. In a similar manner the artist may, by means of the marks 24, in-

dicate the desired position which is to be occupied by the right foot of the figure Bb so that when one of the 'figures 6 is disposed upon the guide !8 in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5 the amount of modeling and displacing of the right leg that must be performed may be readily observed.

Reference has been had hereinbefore to the fact that before removing from the supporting member IS a finished modeled figure the artist carefully notes the positions of the arms, legs and head. I have found that the provision of a checkered background, such as that illustrated in Figs. 4 through 8, facilitates this operation of noting the relative positions of the parts. This background may, as illustrated, comprlse a relatively thithi-sheet of material 25 secured in an upright position to one edge of the base member I4 and disposed in a position extending parallei to the slot I I. The face of the sheet 25 which is directed toward the supporting member li is preferably marked in a checkered pattern by spaced horizontal and vertical lines 26 and 21. The manner in which the relative positions of the legs and arms may be noted is clearly brought out in Fig. 8. It will be seen by reference to this figure that by assigning proper identifying indicia to each of the horizontal lines 21 and each of the vertical lines 26 the locations of each of the parts of the figure will be readily noted by noting the apparent positions of these parts on such a checkered background.

While I have described the modeling operation as being concerned with the displacement of the arms and legs relative to the torso, it is to be understood also that this operation may be performed upon the still plastic heads to alter the facial expression of the figure in the desired steps so that if, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the model is leaving the building with a smiling expression to one of a man smiling.

In a similar manner the face of the figure Gb may be caused to assume an expression representative of a transitory phase between a smiling expression and a sober expression by modeling the normally inexpressive features molded on the figure 6 into the desired expression of a man smiling but not as broadly as the smile indicated on the face of the figure Sa.

With the figure construction which I have illustrated it is possible to photograph certain animated sequences by merely interchanging heads upon a single body portion of the figure. For example, if it were desired to film a sequence portraying the figure talking or singing without any accompanying moti'on oi arms and legs, it would be necessary only 'to prepare a single body portion having its arms and legs disposed in the desired positions and to prepare a number of heads to be substituteci on the single body portion, each of the heads being modeled so as to represent successivothe figure characterizing the singing or speaking operation.

I have referred to the molrling of each of the figures 6 as a two-part figure, that is, with the head molded in one part and the torso with arms and legs attached as a second part. I have discovered also that the modellng operation may be expedited if the molding operation is performed so as to provide a plurallty of sets of independent parts which are merely assembied to form a set of the figures t. ?in accordance with this method a set of heads, a set of right arms, right legs, left arms, left legs, and torsos would all be molded independently of each other.

In preparing the figures ior photographing the modeler would cause the torsos of all of the 'figures to be preliminarily fired and hardened sufliciently to be normally self-supporting and resistant to deformation since in most cases, the conguration of the torsos does not change from one animative aspect to the next. In preparing the figure sa the modeier would then attach the required arms and legs to the partially hardened torso while these arms and legs are still in their plastic state and then model these arms and legs into the positions representative of the desired animative aspect. After the figure ta is prepared in this fashion the entire figure may phases in the animation oi.

then be fired so as to complete the hardening of the torso and. to completely harden the legs and arms attached thereto.

This method has the advantage of avoiding any danger of changing the contour or appearance of the torso inadvertentiy by modeling operations performed on the arms and legs. Furthermore, by only partially firing the torso so as to harden it and prevent dlstortion thereof, the artist is not precluded from firing the completed figure suihciently to completely harden the arms and legs since the amount oi oVer-iiring which is in this fashion imparted to the partly hardened torso is not sufiicient to cause burning thereof.

While the 'supporting rod 63 may be made of any desired shape and the hcles provided in the various figures 6 for receiving the rod 'i8 may also be made of any desired shape, I have found that distinctly advantageous results ensure if the rod i& is made of a rectangar or similar cross section providing a major axs which extends parallel to the slot H and is adapted to be closely received in elongated openings provided in the figure e. Providing a supporting red of this shape insures that the figure ti will, at all. times during the modeling operation, be held in the proper position facing along the length of the slot i'i and prevented from turning at an angle to the desired direction or movement of the model.

in precisely the same vertical position or may be caused to appear in the completed' sequence as having a smooth, flowing, vertical movement as i in the case of a man walking.

The employment of rectangular holes in the body of the figure i for receiving the rectangular supporting rod s permits the use of a guiding or locating device 29, such as that illustrated in Fig. 9, to assist the photographer in properly locating each of the figures i in their correct locations on the setting in which they are to be photographed. This guiding or locating member 29 is preferably formed with a cross section identical with the contour of the holes which are provided in the body of the figure S so that the body portion of the figure may be slipped thereover. The lower end of the guiding member 29 may be provided with a V-shaped notch 3o'deflnlng a pair of spaced points !I and 32. These points are preferably spaced from each other by a distance equal to the amount of forward movement represented by successivo animative phases of the sequence to be photographed.

- In employing the iocating device 29 the points 3i and 32 are so disposed on the stage setting as to cause a line passing through these points to lie in the desired direction of movement of the animation represented by successive figures. Furthermore, the points 3| and 32 may be employed in caliper fashion to mark on the floor of the stage setting the next desired position of the next figure which is to be substituted for the figure which is mounted on the locating device 23. For example, assuming that the point 3l is disposed to the front or in the desired direction of movement, a mark made by that point on the From the foregoing it will beobserved that I have provided a method of making animated pictures in which a great deal of photographing time may be saved since the substitution of separate figures on the miniature set permits the photographing operation to go 'on at a very rapid rate as compared with the speed with which such operation may be performed when it is necessary to alter the aspect of a single model between successivo steps in the photographing process.

It will also be observed that I have provided a method of preparing a set of figures to be used in this photographing process which permits each of the figures to be characterized by identical parts and embeilishments in those places where such parte' and embeliishments are not altered by the animation or the figure.

It will be further observed that the method v of preparlng the figures which I have set forth hereinbefore permits the rapid and accurate modellng of a relatively large number of these figures in a much shm-ter time than would be required by any other known method of modeling. Attention is called to the fact that the accuracy and speed with which this modeling 'process may be carried out is enhanced through the use of the guiding and indexing apparatus.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment oi my invention, I do not desire to be limited to any of the details of construction shown or described herein, deflned in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for 'use in making a sequence of photographs representing the location and animative aspect of a moving object at sucecssive equal time intervals comprising: a set of figures, one for each of said time intervals, each a complete perspective representation of said object and each representing the animative aspect of said object at the corresponding time interval; a locating member for association with any of said figures, each of said figures having an aperture extended upwardly therethrough for receiving said member and holding said member in a predetermined angular position relative to said figure; and means defining a pair of points on the lower end of said member spaced from each other in a direction representing the direction of movement of said object and a distance correspond'ng to the amount of movement of said object between successive time intervals, whereby said points may indicate the desired relative successive locations oi' apair of said figures.

2. An appaartus for use in making a sequence of photographs representing the location and animative aspect of a moving object at successive equal time intervals comprising: a set of figures, one for each of said time intervals, each a complete perspective representative of said objest and each representing the animative aspect of said object at the corresponding time interval; a locating member for association with any of except as said figures, said member comprising a bar of rectangular cross section bifurcated at its lower end to denne a pair of points spaced from each other a distance corresponding to the amount of movement of said object between successive time intervals, each of said figures having extended therethrough a rectangular aperture for closely receiving said member, said apertures being so located in said figures as to hold said member in an angular position extend'ng a line joining said points in a direction representing the direction of movement of said object, where by said points may indicate the desired relative successive locations of a pair of said figures.

3. An apparatus for use in making a sequence of photographs representing the location and anlmative aspect of a moving object at successive equal time intervals comprising: a set of figures, one for each of said time intervals, each a complete perspective representation of said object and each representing the animative aspect of said object at the corresponding time interval, each of said figures comprising a lower part and a separate upper part normally resting on said lower part at a junction surface; a locating member for association with any of said figures, each of said figures having an aperture extended upwardly therethrough and intersecting said junction surface for receiving said member and holding said member in a predetermined angular position relative to said figure; and means defining a pair of points on the lower end of said member spaced from each other in a direction representing the direction of movement of said object and a distance corresponding to the amount of movement of said object between successive time intervals, whereby said points may indicate the desired relative successive locations of a pair of figures and whereby temporary removal of said upper part allows said locating member to be removed from said aperture without moving said figure from said desired location.

EDWARD NASSOUR. 

